


Clutched Fingers

by Everyday_Im_Preaching



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prize Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 23:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8820085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everyday_Im_Preaching/pseuds/Everyday_Im_Preaching
Summary: After Khoshekh gets attacked by the StrexPet™, he needs the comfort that only Carlos and a hot cup of tea can provide.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Glaire_Cordon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glaire_Cordon/gifts).



> This fic is a prize fanfiction that user pies-on-ice, otherwise know as Glaire_Cordon, won in my 800 follower contest!
> 
> I hope you like it!

 

Cecil was quiet. Lips pressed together in a thin line, the beginning of wrinkles playing at the corners of his mouth and eyes. Laugh lines and crows feet that spoke of an age that Carlos could never guess. The show hosts curls were mussed atop his head from frantic fingers running through it. Wide, wet eyes were free of his glasses for once; they'd been folded and set on the coffee table next to a steaming cup of herbal tea.

“Cecil, it's not your fault.” Carlos told him gently, hand rubbing circles into his boyfriend's upper back. He danced the soothing touch over Cecil's shoulder blades and the base of his neck. “Honey, it isn't.” Cecil's shoulder's shook lightly, and Carlos's eyebrows furrowed.

“I know it isn't, but I just. I can't--” he dropped his face into his hands, shaking it back and forth.

“Khoshekh is going to be just fine, Cecil. Everything it going to be fine.” Carlos told him; he leaned close, pressing a kiss to the freckled cheeks of the radio show host, kissing away the beginning of tears as his lips travelled upwards. Cecil let out a soft sigh and turned his head to accept the kisses pressed to his face.

“You promise?” Cecil murmured, eyes closing with a gentle hum. His body was tense beside Carlos, despite the calm that was instilled in his voice. Carlos pressed a comforting kiss to his temple. “I promise.” The scientist slid a hand down and entwined his thick fingers with Cecil's slender ones. “Cecil, bad things happen. And they're going to continue to happen.” Eyes flicked up to Carlos,  focusing on him with an almost suspicious slant. “That's how life works. But no matter how bad things get, we're going to get through it together.” he squeezed his fingers gently.

“Saying stuff like that is what tempts fate, Carlos.” Cecil admonished with no real heat, turning his eyes back down to the coffee table. It was scuffed and worn, showing its age through warped wood and deep scratches across the surface.

“Existing tempts fate.” Carlos reminded. “But I know for a fact that there's not a single person I'd rather struggle through life with. I love you, Cecil.” the hand on Cecil's back moved to gently card through the unruly curls. The show host turned his head, dark eyes locking on to Carlos's; in them was a deep, unimaginable mixture of sadness and confusion that made the scientists heart ache.

“I love you too.” Cecil kissed Carlos chastely before drawing back. “You taste like peppermint.” he observed; Carlos welcomed the distraction. The less that his boyfriend thought about the horrifying incident with Khoshekh, the better.

“Probably because I suck on them while I work.” the scientists confirmed, alighting a hand on Cecil's hip. He brushed their nose together. “They help me focus.”

“Mm, or maybe you just have an oral fixation?” Cecil suggested; his hands were chilly, slipping underneath the thick cotton of Carlos's lab coat. “You're always so warm in comparison to me; how do you keep such a high body temperature? Is there some kind of secret that I'm not being let in on?” Cecil paused to laugh. “Well, there's always a secret that I'm never being let in on.”

“No secret. My body temperature is just higher than yours.” Carlos told him, pulling him closer so that his boyfriend was almost on his lap. He placed more kisses across the sharp cheekbones and across the bridge of his nose. Cecil let out a gentle laugh, trying to turn his head away; he was stopped by a set of hands cupping his face and lips connecting with his.

Cecil returned the kiss, unable to keep back the soft chuckles that escaped from his mouth into Carlos's as the scientist gifted him with chaste, gentle pecks. He gently placed a hand on the side of Carlos's cheek, rubbing his thumb against the scratchy scruff that was ever-present along his boyfriends jaw.

“I wish I was as warm as you. Wouldn't have to bundle up nearly as much.” Cecil murmured, drawing back. “I made some tea; you should go pour yourself a cup before it cools.”

“How about I just steal yours instead?” Carlos teased, dropping his hands. He slid even closer to the show host, pressing their clothed legs tightly to one another. Cecil rose an eyebrow, lips pursing once more at the question.

“You'll have to fight me for it.” Cecil told him, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a grin. “You've two perfectly good legs, Carlos.” he pet one lightly. “You can get up and get your own cup.” Carlos sighed, standing up. He ruffled the show hosts hair playfully.

“You've got me there. Two good legs.” he pet the top of his calves. “I'll be right back.”

 

Carlos returned with a cup of tea and an afghan; the knitted fabric was a mixture of purple and white, looking as if it reflected the night sky itself. Or more likely, the void. The television was on now, playing some odd kids show that the scientist could never understand. Cecil enjoyed it, however, so he didn't mind sitting through it, listening to his boyfriend laugh and titter at the glowing screen.

“Hey.” Carlos greeted, setting his tea down for a moment to wrap the afghan around Cecil. The show host snuggled into it, pulling it tight around himself. Carlos tugged off his lab coat and laid it over the arm of the couch before sitting back down. Cecil wiggled himself over so he could lay his head on the scientists shoulder, sighing in contentment. “New episode?”

“New episode.” Cecil affirmed, plucking his tea from the coffee table before readjusting himself. His fingers curled around the mugs warmth, clutching it tight. “Carlos, thank you. For everything.” Carlos let out a questioning hum, slipping an arm over Cecil's shoulders.

“For what?”

“For being here for me.” Cecil's eyes slipped away, focusing on a misplaced corkboard coaster, sitting by itself on the table. “I feel like I'm taking you away from your science with this entire situation.”

“You aren't doing anything of the sort.” Carlos informed him. “Your cat is injured. And that happened because Strexcorp built a dangerous, violent piece of bio-machinery that they begged off as 'malfunctioning' when it attacked Khoshekh. And they gave it to you as a birthday present.”

“It wasn't even my birthday.” Cecil grumbled.

“I know, baby.” Carlos told him, trying not to chuckle at the grumpy response. “Tomorrow we're going to go back to the vet's office and check on him, alright?”

“Okay.” Cecil agreed quietly. He focused his eyes back on the screen.

“Is there anything else I can do?” Carlos asked quietly, almost to himself. Cecil shook his head, snuggling closer to the scientist.  “Let me know if there is.”

“You're doing more than you can imagine.” Cecil told him. “You should stay with me forever, you know?”

“Forever?” Carlos asked, settling back against the couch, watching the silly, confusing antics of the characters on the television. “How about forever and a day instead?” Cecil snorted, drawing his legs up and underneath him. “Did you take your shoes off?”

“Mm, no.” Cecil answered. He placed his mug back on the table before reaching a hand to untie and tug his shoes off. They clattered to the floor, smacking against the hardwood loudly. “Now I have.”

“I can hear that.” Carlos teased lightly, kissing the top of his head. Cecil let out a burst of laughter at the television, causing the scientist to smile. “What's the name of this show again?”

“I'm not entirely sure.” Cecil revealed slowly. “I suppose I'll have to watch with a bit more care next time. I'm probably just overlooking it, if I'm to be honest.” Carlos shook his head. Cecil would forget about his attempt to learn the shows name by the next time it came on. The scientist was always on the look out for some merchandise for the kids show, something to gift with Cecil with. But it was hard when the internet hardly ever worked and there was no name to input into the glitchy, twitching search bar. At this point, he might as well simply make something. He'd never been too handy with crafts, but he could try for Cecil. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”  the show asked suddenly, breaking Carlos from daze.

“Mm? No, I don't.” Carlos replied instantly; he'd called and explained what had happened to his  team, and they had completely understood; Cecil meant a lot to Carlos. Khoshekh meant a lot to Cecil. Therefore, Khoshekh meant a lot to Carlos, even if he was allergic to cats. “Don't you have to go into the studio tomorrow evening? You have like, seven missed calls from uh...what's her name? Your new boss. She's left a couple voicemails.” he pointed at the answering machine that was flashing at them menacingly. The bright red number looked especially vicious this evening.

“I don't want to hear them.” Cecil told him. “I don't like Lauren very much.”

“I don't think anyone likes Lauren.” Carlos replied; the cartoon cut to a commercial advertising some sort of new cleaning product. There was a lot of blood and it turned Carlos's stomach to the point that he had to look directly at his boyfriend. Cecil was watching with intent, eyebrows knitting together as if he was actually contemplating buying whatever it was.

“I have to go in tomorrow.” Cecil finally responded once the commercial faded to static. “Unfortunately. I don't think it's going to go very well.”

“Why not? They're at fault here. They should apologise, shell out some money towards the vet bill.” Carlos told him.

“I know. But trying to get them to fess up that this was their fault is like pulling teeth. Lots of blood. Screaming.” he took a sip of his tea. “It's honestly so much work.”

“But it'll make their lives a little harder, won't it?” Carlos asked; he had slipped his hand lower, wrapping it around Cecil's side and curling his fingers around the show hosts side. Cecil seemed to brighten at the idea.

“Making their lives harder, huh?” Cecil hummed; his eyes glinted with mischief. “I suppose that I could badger Lauren about it tomorrow. Seeing as it was StrexCorp's fault.” Another sip of his tea.

“It was completely their fault. They should have to pay for everything. Including my claritin.” Carlos had agreed to let Cecil keep Khoshekh in their home whilst he recovered; he couldn't of said no. The way Cecil was sobbing and clutching at him when the question had slipped out. What was he supposed to have said but yes?

“Yes, they should.” Cecil agreed. The cartoon came back on to the television, now in a muted grey hue. Carlos gave it a sparing glance before turning his eyes back at Cecil. The show host was single-handedly the most attractive man he had ever met; even if you ignored the honeyed voice that he possessed.  “You always have the best ideas, Carlos.”  

“I don't think that's true.” Carlos disagreed. “Quite a few of my ideas are absolutely terrible, I'll have you know.” he playfully tugged on a stray curl that had popped free from the rest on Cecil's head.  Cecil winked at him, turning his face up to kiss the edge of Carlos's jaw. “In fact, I think I've only ever had one good idea. And I don't even think that it was my idea.

“And what's that?” Cecil asked, despite already knowing what the scientist was going to say.

“Asking you out.” Carlos answered, voice honest and warm. “I'm still kicking myself for not asking sooner.” the show host chuckled, pressing another kiss to Carlos's jaw.

“I guess that that would make my best idea saying yes, wouldn't it?” he murmured against the tanned skin.

“Well, it may have not been your best. But it was my luckiest.” the scientist replied, tilting his head down and pressing their foreheads together. “I'm so lucky.” he breathed, breath mingling with Cecil's. “So lucky.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! 
> 
> Song for this fic:  
> Get Me Right by Dashboard Confessional
> 
> Want to stay updated? Click [here](http://everyday-im-preaching.tumblr.com/) to stay in the know!


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